Over the years there has been a number of solutions that have been tried to resolve the many problems that are encountered in the construction of walls and panels using concrete and other settable materials. A bare, exposed concrete wall is esthetically boring and displeasing to the eye. For this reason, a number of methods have been proposed to texture or provide a surface finish to the outer surface of concrete structures to provide an architecturally pleasing appearance.
As a result of these proposals, different arrangements have been tried to adhere or embed articles within the surface of the structure or to texture the surface of the finished concrete structure with varying degrees of success. As is well known in the prior art, different methods have also been attempted to hold bricks and other objects within a concrete mold, usually positioned horizontally, while the concrete is poured over the objects so as to embed and hold the objects in the surface of the finished concrete panel. The panels are then assembled for constructing the finished wall. While in many cases bricks have been used as the surface treatment, other objects can be used, such as tiles, blocks, stones or the like which provide a visually pleasing appearance.
Many of the prior art solutions have been quite expensive and cost prohibitive which eliminates them as a viable solution. In addition, the prior art forms and molds do not seal the face surface of the object from concrete grout seepage creating a considerable additional labor cost for cleaning the exposed surface of the finished wall or panel.
In order to eliminate many of these existing problems, it is desirable to provide a lightweight layout form liner product which will securely position objects and allow these objects to be held in the mold without shifting during the pouring of the settable medium. An additional aspect of the novel approach which is addressed in the present invention is the ability to seal or neutralize any seepage that might get to the face surface of the object. These two attributes are in direct correlation to each other and this is why the present invention is so innovative and unique.